Rita_Burak

Rita Burak

Rita Burak

Canadian civil servant

Rita Burak, O.Ont (born 15 June 1946)[1] was the chair of the board of Hydro One until 2008 and a former Canadian public servant and independent consultant.

Public service

Burak was born in New Jersey, United States[2] and moved to Canada in 1968.[3] She started as a private secretary in industry, and then began as a secretary for the Ontario Legislative Assembly in 1970.[4] She returned to get her bachelor's degree in political science,[5] which she received from Atkinson College, York University in 1977.[6] By 1982 she was the executive director of finance and administration at the Ontario Ministry of Labor.[4] In 1995 Burak was named as the head of civil service,[7] and she held the position of secretary of the Cabinet for the Government of Ontario from 1995 to 2000.[8][3] When Burak interviewed with Mike Harris, the newly-elected premier of Ontario for the cabinet secretary position, she brought a copy of his plan that had been written out as the Common Sense Revolution and said she could implement the plan.[9] Her being appointed as cabinet secretary has been described as "an expression of the confidence in the public service's professionalism".[10] Harris was impressed by her interest in working on his plans,[11]: 101  and she was appointed as cabinet secretary with five days of Harris's election and in her new job she guided the transition team.[12] She was the first woman to serve as Ontario's cabinet secretary.[13] She was known for her focus on reducing duplicative efforts across offices, consolidating services within the ministry,[14] and doing so in a financially responsible manner.[15][16] While serving in the role of cabinet secretary, Burak opted to not vote in elections in order to maintain political neutrality in the public service.[2][16]: 249  The Globe and Mail columnist John Ibbitson wrote in 2000 that "Cabinet secretaries are always powerful, if unquoted, figures in government, but few were more powerful than Ms. Burak."[17]

Previously, she was Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs[17][18] and Assistant Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Housing.[when?]

When Burak stepped down as cabinet secretary she started a private consulting firm, The Network Executive Team.[19]

Burak was appointed chair of Hydro One in 2003, serving first as an interim chair,[20][21] and ultimately as chair until she stepped down in 2008.[22] She also served as the chair of eHealth Ontario, stepping in to head the agency when issues arose about contracts with consultants,[23][24] and continued to provide reports on means to improve the efficiency of agencies within the province of Ontario as recently as 2011.[25]

Awards

Burak is a recipient of the Order of Ontario (2001)[26] and the Canadian Public Policy Forum's Annual Testimonial Award (2004).[27]

Personal life

Burak's spouse, Peter Barnes, was secretary of the Cabinet of Ontario from 1989 to 1992.[8][17]

References

  1. [1]
    Canadian Who's Who Search. Grey House Publishing Canada.
  2. [2]
    Mittelstaedt, Martin (June 14, 1995). "Harris fills top post in civil service Appointment of new cabinet secretary signals less 'politicization' in bureaucracy". Globe & Mail (Toronto, Canada) – via Gale.
  3. [3]
    Brennan, Richard (7 April 2000). "Ontario's top civil servant ready to retire ; Cabinet secretary Rita Burak to step down in June". Toronto Star; Toronto, Ont. [Toronto, Ont]. p. 1 – via ProQuest.
  4. [4]
    "Women bankers push for the top". Red Deer Advocate. 1982-01-04. p. 17. Retrieved 2022-11-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. [5]
    "Women on rise in business". North Bay Nugget. 1981-12-28. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-11-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. [6]
    "Rita Burak". York University. Archived from the original on June 14, 2008. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  7. [7]
    Brennan, Richard (1995-06-14). "Woman named to head Ontario's civil service". The Sault Star. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-11-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. [8]
    "Previous Secretaries of the Ontario Cabinet". ontario.ca. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  9. [9]
    Paikin, Steve (2016-10-22). Paikin on Ontario's Premiers 2-Book Bundle: Bill Davis / Paikin and the Premiers. Dundurn. ISBN 978-1-4597-3833-1.
  10. [10]
    Collier, Cheryl N.; Malloy, Jonathan (2017-01-01). The Politics of Ontario. University of Toronto Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-1-4426-0912-9.
  11. [11]
    Ibbitson, John (1997). Promised Land: Inside The Mike Harris Revolution. Internet Archive. Scarborough, Ont. : Prentice Hall Canada. ISBN 978-0-13-673864-0.
  12. [12]
    Cameron, David R.; White, Graham (2011-11-01). Cycling into Saigon: The Conservative Transition in Ontario. UBC Press. pp. 104–105. ISBN 978-0-7748-4019-4.
  13. [13]
    Brennan, Richard (1995-06-14). "MPPs take parting shot at Tories". The Windsor Star. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  14. [14]
    Dean, Tony (2015-08-13). Building Better Public Services: A Guide for Practitioners. FriesenPress. ISBN 978-1-4602-6974-9.
  15. [15]
    Whiteside, Heather (2020). Canadian Political Economy. University of Toronto Press. p. 138. ISBN 978-1-4875-2348-0.
  16. [16]
    White, Randall (1998). Ontario Since 1985: A Contemporary History. Internet Archive. Toronto : Eastend Books. pp. 247–249, 257. ISBN 978-1-896973-12-8.
  17. [17]
    Ibbitson, John (7 April 2000). "A tough act to follow in cabinet? Yes, minister". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  18. [18]
    Government restructuring and career public service in Canada. Internet Archive. Toronto : IPAC = IAPC. 2000. ISBN 978-0-920715-92-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  19. [19]
    Hughes, Rick (15 August 2001). "Burak lauded as impartial professional". The Spectator; Hamilton, Ont. [Hamilton, Ont]. pp. A11 – via ProQuest.
  20. [20]
    "Wright quits after year as HydroOne chairman". National Post. 2003-06-05. p. 34. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  21. [21]
    "Board not arms-length from government, says Energy Probe". National Post. 2002-06-12. p. 22. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  22. [22]
    "Former Molson head to chair Hydro". The Sun Times. 2008-03-15. p. 17. Retrieved 2022-11-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. [23]
    Metro International (2009-10-22). Taxpayers 'owed' an apology: eHealth chair. Metro Toronto -Atlantic Free Daily Newspapers Inc. p. 4.
  24. [24]
    Metro International (2009-06-18). McGinty solemn over eHealth. Metro Toronto - Atlantic Free Daily Newspapers Inc.
  25. [25]
    Benzie, Robert (March 16, 2011). "Government slashes redundant agencies; Liberals to reap $4.2M by closing bank account of Stadium Corp". The Toronto Star (Toronto, Ontario) – via Gale.
  26. [26]
    Perkel, Colin (5 December 2001). "Order of Ontario honours for 27". Expositor; Brantford, Ont. [Brantford, Ont]. pp. A7 – via ProQuest.
  27. [27]
    "Testimonial Award | National". Public Policy Forum. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
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